TNT bounced back big by taking down Magnolia, 98-93, and claiming a seat in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday.
Missed the last time, Kelly Williams returned to active duty and torched the Hotshots for 19 points while Jason Castro made up for a poor performance the last time by hitting 18 points to make the Tropang Giga the fifth team to advance in the playoffs.
The win somehow soothed the pain of TNT's 107-103 upset at the hands of also-ran Converge last week that derailed the team's march to the playoffs.
Coach Chot Reyes opted to sit out Williams against the FiberXers owing to a back issue, while Castro was held to just four points as he favored a hurting jumper's knee.
"It's a very calculated risk on our part not to play Kelly the last time because he has back issues. And as you can see, Jason is not near 100 percent," said Reyes in the post-game interview.
"But today we have a full Kelly and a full Jason. And hopefully, we could bring these to the next games that we're going to face in the playoffs. They're both a huge part of what we want to do as a team."
Following the win, TNT already clinched the no. 4 seed and will play no. 5 Rain or Shine in a best-of-three series in the playoffs that begin on Friday.
Mark Barroca had a game-high 22 points for Magnolia, which could fall either at no. 6 or 7 depending on the result of the Barangay Ginebra-NLEX match in the second game.
But the highest the Hotshots will finish is at no. 6 or worst, at no. 7 for a quarterfinal match up with second seed Barangay Ginebra, which owns a twice-to-beat advantage.
TNT led by as many 56-38 in the third quarter, though Magnolia battled its way back and threatened in the final period.
A three-point shot by Aris Dionisio trimmed the deficit to 89-83, but Castro came through with some clutch baskets down the stretch to keep Magnolia at bay.
"We really approached this game as the start of the playoffs already. Let's not wait the following day or the end, but we said this is the start of our playoffs," said Reyes.
The scores:
TNT (98) -- K.Williams 19, Castro 18, Heruela 13, Oftana 12, Ponferrada 10, Pogoy 7, Khobuntin 7, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Montalbo 4, Aurin 2, Galinato 2, Varilla 0.
Magnolia (93) -- Barroca 22, Sangalang 21, Dionisio 14, Dela Rosa 9, Abueva 7, Jalalon 6, Balanza 5, Lee 3, Laput 2, Reavis 2, Tratter 2, Eriobu 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarterscores: 16-14; 47-36; 80-65; 98-93.
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